If you encounter a 3-year-old filly late in the season with an 84-76-93 Beyer Speed Figure series, you can look at it two ways: She just ran the race of her life and can’t duplicate it, or that race is the tip-off that the best is yet to come. It turned out that it was the latter for Her Emmynency in the Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup last Saturday at Keeneland. She followed the 93, earned when she battled all the way in the Del Mar Oaks, with a 98 in winning the QE II under a perfect ride from Florent Geroux. The hard-luck Miss Temple City also got a career-best 98 when second after enough stretch adventures to make her connections question the racing gods. The surprise of the race was the favored Sentiero Italia, who went backward for the first time in her career after six consecutive ascending Beyers. She just never had any pop. Messi was amazing in the Knickerbocker, coming from last behind no pace to get up in time and get a career-best 99 Beyer. The betting story was 34-1 Cage Fighter, who confirmed his 98 Beyer at Parx with a near theft on the front end. The moral here is if a horse is 34-1, has the second-best last-out Beyer, and looks like potential lone speed in a paceless race, ask no questions before heading to the windows. This is a light Saturday, with the Breeders’ Cup looming in two weeks. The Raven Run at Keeneland is a $250,000 race for 3-year-old filly sprinters with exactly one horse who has ever hit 90 on the Beyer scale. That would be Bar of Gold, whose last two sprints were solid seconds to Cavorting in the Test and Prioress, with Beyers of 88 and 92. That should make her the favorite in the Raven Run, but she’s far from a cinch. Sarah Sis is intriguing in the Raven Run because her career race was at Keeneland almost exactly a year ago, when she ran away from the field under Geroux and got an 82 Beyer. Geroux returns aboard Sarah Sis for the first time since, and this filly absolutely looks like lone speed. Sarah Sis has never gone forward from that big 2-year-old figure, but any 2-year-old filly who can earn an 82 in October is worth a look when finally getting back to the most similar circumstance since that effort. Irish Jasper and Kathballu are capable of high 80s on the scale, and there is no guarantee that Bar of Gold is going to repeat her best Beyer. Coffee Clique and Lady Lara have the best Beyers and two of the worst post positions in the Athenia Stakes on Saturday at Belmont Park. Coffee Clique was perfect in an abbreviated three-race campaign last year but has been less than perfect in 2015. Her Beyers, however, have been relatively consistent for a year and a half, ranging from 92 to 98. She just happened to catch some very tough horses in her races this year. And that would include Lady Lara, who has finished in front of Coffee Clique twice, most recently Sept. 19 in the Noble Damsel at Belmont. Lady Lara has had a few more down days than Coffee Clique, with 86 and 90 Beyers in her two worst races. However, a pair of 97s and a 98 in the Noble Damsel certainly speak to her overall quality. Her best is certainly good enough in this spot, but the outside post and lack of pace for this stone-cold closer certainly are causes for concern. Ben’s Cat has made his reputation and the vast majority of his money in grass sprints, but the reality is that the amazing 9-year-old is actually faster and even more consistent on dirt. There just are not as many opportunities for as much money, so trainer King Leatherbury has targeted those grass sprints, especially the two every year at Parx that have accounted for nearly $1 million of Ben’s $2.47 million bankroll. Leatherbury had a choice to make between Maryland Million races on Saturday at Laurel, and he has chosen wisely, taking the six-furlong dirt race over the one-mile grass race. Ben’s Cat is 6 for 7 with a third at six furlongs on dirt. His last three dirt sprints, all wins in the Fabulous Strike at Penn National to end his last three campaigns, earned him Beyers of 100, 103, and 104. None of the horses in this race has gotten to 90 on a fast dirt track, so Ben is in a great spot. Ben has not had his best rallies in his last few races. It could be that he is finally slowing down, or it could have been circumstance. If Ben’s Cat is anywhere close to his best, he should blow this field away.